Ministry of Defence

Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Inspection of the Royal Military Police

Mark Lancaster: I wish to inform the House that I am laying today, on behalf of the Secretary of State for Defence, the first report from Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Inspection of the Royal Military Police. This is the first report as directed within the Armed Forces Act 2011, which requires Her Majesty’s Inspectors of Constabulary to inspect, and report to the Secretary of State, on the independence and effectiveness of investigation carried out by each service police force. The Royal Military Police were the first to be inspected in October 2014. I consider this report to be very positive and provides assurance from an independent civilian authority that, on the whole, the leadership of the Royal Military Police is good. Ten recommendations have been made for improvement, in particular concerning crime recording and monitoring the effectiveness of investigations. The Army are implementing an action plan to address the recommendations. Copies of the report will be available in the Vote Office and Printed Paper Office.

LYNX ZF540 - Findings of Service Inquiry

Mark Lancaster: I wish to inform the House of the findings of the Service Inquiry into the accident involving an Army Lynx helicopter (Mark 9A variant) on 26th April 2014, in which Captain Thomas Clarke, Flight Lieutenant Rakesh Chauhan, Warrant Officer Class 2 Spencer Faulkner, Corporal James Walters and Lance Corporal Oliver Thomas tragically died. On the day of the accident, the aircraft was conducting a training sortie when it crashed approximately 20 km south of Kandahar Airfield in the Chaghray Ghar Valley, Afghanistan. A Service Inquiry was convened by the Director General of the Military Aviation Authority (now the Director General of the Defence Safety Authority as of 1 April 2015) to establish the cause and examine those factors which contributed to the accident, and in order to make recommendations to prevent a recurrence and enhance Air Safety. The Service Inquiry Panel has conducted an independent, thorough and objective Inquiry and their report is now complete. Copies have already been provided to the Next of Kin, HM Coroner for Oxfordshire and relevant personnel and units in Defence to ensure the timely dissemination of the Air Safety lessons contained within it. A copy of the Service Inquiry Report, redacted in accordance with the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act 2000, is also being placed in the Library of the House today and on the gov.uk website. Our deepest sympathies remain with the families of those who lost their lives in this tragic accident.

Ministry of Justice

Triennial Review of the Civil Justice Council and Family Justice Council

Caroline Dinenage: On 4 November 2013 the Triennial Review of the Civil Justice Council (CJC) and Family Justice Council (FJC) was announced in Parliament. I am pleased to announce the conclusion of the Review and publication of the report today. Stage one of the Review concluded that both the CJC and FJC should continue to exist as an NDPB and that there is a continuing need for the functions of both councils. Stage two reviewed the control and governance arrangements of the CJC and FJC in order to consider whether both bodies are complying with recognised principles of good corporate governance. This Review has resulted in a small number of recommendations to drive greater transparency and encourage diversity in membership of the councils, particularly of the CJC. The Review was publicised on my Department’s website and stakeholders were invited to contribute through a Call for Evidence. A Critical Friends Group ensured a robust approach to the Review and provided comment and challenge on the conclusions. I am grateful to all who contributed to the Triennial Review. The final report has been placed in the libraries of both Houses.


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HM Treasury

Financial Ombudsman Service: Annual Report and Accounts

Harriett Baldwin: The Annual Report and Accounts 2014/15 of the Financial Ombudsman Service has today been laid before Parliament.   The Report forms an important part of the accountability mechanisms for the Financial Ombudsman Service under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), and assesses the performance of the Financial Ombudsman Service over the past 12 months in discharging its functions. 


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ECOFIN: 14 July 2015

Mr George Osborne: A meeting of the Economic and Financial Affairs Council will be held in Brussels on 14 July 2015. Ministers are due to discuss the following items: Current Legislative Proposals The Presidency will inform delegations about the state of play of current legislative proposals in the field of financial services. Presentation of the work programme of the Luxembourg Presidency The Luxembourg Presidency will present its six-month work programme in the ECOFIN area and invite an exchange of views. Five Presidents' Report: Completing Europe's Economic and Monetary Union The Commission and the Eurogroup President will present the Five Presidents’ report on the plan for completing Europe’s Economic and Monetary Union. 


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Department for International Development

Contingent liability arising from subscription to shares in the African Development Bank

Grant Shapps: It is normal practice, when a government department proposes to undertake a contingent liability in excess of £300,000 for which there is no specific statutory authority, for the Minister concerned to present a departmental Minute to parliament giving particulars of the liability created and explaining the circumstances; and to refrain from incurring the liability until fourteen parliamentary sitting days after the issue of the Statement, except in cases of special urgency.   The UK has purchased shares in the multilateral development banks through special or general capital increases before. The African Development Bank is reissuing additional shares that were originally issued for the AfDB’s 6th General Capital Increase (GCI VI), but were either forfeited or not taken up by other non-regional shareholders. The UK is currently half the way through making payments for its subscription under this share issue that was approved by Parliament in May 2011. Further shares have also become available as a Special Capital Increase (SCI) to non-regional shareholders, following the ratification of South Sudan as a member of the Bank. This is required to maintain the approximate shareholding balance between regional and non-regional members of the Bank to 60:40 respectively.   The UK currently holds 1.684% of the shares in the Bank and the Government wishes to increase its shareholding. The UK currently has the smallest shareholding of all G7 countries. The UK joined the Bank in 1983, and at the time elected not to take up the full allocation of shares on offer. This small shareholding means that the UK’s vote on all AfDB issues carries less weight than many other shareholders, as it represents a smaller percentage of the total vote. Subscription to the additional shares available will increase the UK’s shareholding to approximately 1.72%. If we are able to subscribe to the total GCI VI shares available, this would increase our shareholding to 1.87%. Failure to participate in this share issue would decrease the UK’s shareholding to 1.65%.   The UK has been allocated 3157 shares from the SCI issue and 1453 additional shares from GCI VI. Combined, this equates to an additional 4610 shares. Under the terms of this share issue, of the allocated shares, 6% must be ‘paid-in’ at a cost of £2,755,377 and the remainder (£43,267,406) will be callable (i.e. a contingent liability).   The SCI share issue has a long deadline, as the first payment is not required until 4 October 2016. However, under the terms of the GCI VI share issue, the first payment should be deposited with the Bank by 2 October 2015; otherwise the UK will forfeit the shares. If it is not possible to secure Parliamentary approval for the Statutory Instrument in the short amount of Parliamentary time available before the end of October, we would still plan to proceed with seeking the House’s approval of the Instrument. This would enable the UK to purchase any further shares that are transferred due to these and other forfeited shares.   We also expect other shareholders may not be able to meet this tight deadline, and shares will be reissued again to shareholders. DFID is therefore seeking approval of a payment up to £7,946,866.67. This figure equates to the total amount of GCI VI shares available to all shareholders plus the UK’s allocation of the SCI. This will allow the Government to react quickly to any further reallocation of this share issue (GCI and SCI) and increase the likelihood of the UK being able to meet the short deadlines that are part of the Bank’s rules for share reallocations.   DFID’s total contingent liability is currently £10.7 billion if the total approved funds were fully utilised it would increase by £124,570,794 or 1.17%. I have today laid a departmental Minute outlining details of the liability.   A draft statutory instrument, seeking approval for the Department for International Development (DFID) to pay up to the capital amount of £7,946,866.67 is being laid before Parliament in accordance with section 11 of the International Development Act 2002. This will be considered by the Select Committee on Statutory Instruments. The final value of the callable shares will appear in DFID’s financial accounts as a contingent liability.   The main risk associated with this share issue is that the UK will be asked to pay for the additional capital of £43,267,406 of the currently available shares or up to £124,570,794 if the UK is issued further shares from this allocation. Although the AfDB has the right to call for payment for these shares if there is a crisis affecting the bank’s assets or loans, this has not occurred in relation to existing callable shares and, given that the bank has a AAA credit rating, it is very unlikely to occur in practice. If the liability is called, provision for any payment will be sought through the normal Supply procedure.   The Treasury has approved the proposal in principle. If, during the period of fourteen parliamentary sitting days beginning on the date on which this Minute was laid before parliament (i.e. 14 to 21 July and 7 to 17 September), a member signifies an objection by giving notice of a Parliamentary Question or by otherwise raising the matter in parliament, final approval to proceed with incurring the liability will be withheld pending an examination of the objection.

Home Office

Triennial Review of the Security Industry Authority

Mike Penning: I am today announcing the first triennial review of the Security Industry Authority, part of the Government’s commitment to ensuring that public bodies continue to have regular independent challenge. The review will focus on examining whether the SIA is operating efficiently and whether its control and governance arrangements continue to meet the recognised principles of good corporate governance. I will inform the House of the outcome of the review when it is completed.


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Gangmasters Licensing Authority – Annual Report and Accounts 2014-15

Karen Bradley: The 2014-15 Annual Report and Accounts for the Gangmasters Licensing Authority are being laid before the House today and published on www.gov.uk. Copies will be available in the Vote Office.


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Speaker's Committee on the Electoral Commission

Report on the administration of the 7 May 2015 elections, including the UK Parliamentary General Election

Mr Gary Streeter: The Electoral Commission has today published its statutory report on the administration of the 7 May 2015 elections, including the UK Parliamentary General Election. The Commission’s report indicates that, overall, the elections were well run. The Commission’s research with the public demonstrates that the UK continues to enjoy well-run elections with high levels of voter satisfaction and confidence. Nine in ten (91%) people surveyed said the elections were well-run. Within this, nearly all (94%) of those who voted in person at a polling station were satisfied with the process, and nearly all (97%) of those who voted by post were satisfied with voting this way. The Commission notes that this success is due to the dedication of all those who had a role in these elections: the Returning Officers (ROs) and their staff in election offices, polling stations and count centres across the UK; the candidates, political party volunteers and campaigners; and the millions of voters who participated. Any problems that did occur were confined to a small number of local areas and the Commission has also today published a paper alongside its statutory report which addresses in more detail the performance of Returning Officers at the May 2015 polls and where there were failures against the Commission’s performance standards. The Commission’s view at present is that there were high levels of compliance with the rules by parties and candidates. Later this year, the Commission will publish campaigners’ spending returns which will give voters transparency in how they financed their election campaigns. The May 2015 elections involved several important new changes for voters, campaigners and electoral administrators: there was a new individual electoral registration system for England, Scotland and Wales, which also allowed people to apply to register to vote online for the first time; and there were additional transparency rules for non-party campaigners in place for the first time at a UK Parliamentary General election. The 2015 UK Parliamentary General election was also the first held under the Fixed-term Parliaments Act, which meant that the date of the elections was known since autumn 2011. The General Election alone was contested by 136 political parties and 3,971 candidates. In addition, in several hundred local authority areas in England, the poll for the UK Parliamentary election was combined with other polls including parish council elections, elections for local mayors and local referendums.  2.6 million applications to register to vote were submitted during the Electoral Commission’s public awareness campaign, and contributed to over 1.5 million new additions to the electoral registers. The elections staff adapted to the level of demand and on the whole coped well, and 85% of voters surveyed were satisfied with the procedure for registering to vote. The May parliamentary electoral registers contained 46.4 million entries, an increase of 1% since February/March 2014, when the last registers were published under the household registration system. The Commission makes a number of recommendations to further improve voters’ experience and sustain trust in our democracy at future polls, based on lessons from the experiences of these most recent elections and long-standing policy recommendations. Key recommendations include that: the new online electoral registration service should now be extended to electors in Northern Ireland; people should be able to check whether they are already correctly registered to vote, using an additional online system, before submitting a new application to register to vote; all Returning Officers should include the correct postage on postal ballot packs for overseas electors so that they can be delivered to voters and returned as quickly as possible before polling day, with funding made available by the UK Government for ROs to deliver this. The Commission has also reiterated its 2014 recommendation that voters at polling stations in England, Scotland and Wales should be required to provide proof of their identity before being issued with a ballot paper. The Commission will publish further information on proposals for a proportionate and accessible scheme for verifying the identity of electors at polling stations by the end of 2015, and recommends that the UK Government should legislate to introduce this requirement in time for elections in 2019. The Commission also recommends in its report that all UK governments should ensure that any legislation relating to elections for which they are responsible is clear at least six months before it is required to be implemented or complied with by campaigners or electoral administrators, and suggests that if this cannot be achieved, statements should be tabled in the relevant legislature to explain the reasons. Copies of the Commission’s reports have been placed in the Library and it is also available on its website at: www.electoralcommission.org.uk